The Chargers general manager plans to speak with the left tackle in the coming weeks, "probably" before the new league year and free agency period both begin on March 12, Telesco said Thursday. He expressed hope the conversation could occur face-to-face rather than on the phone but acknowledged not every player resides in San Diego during the offseason.

Say they do meet.

Say the 26-year-old impresses his new GM and the mostly new coaching staff.

Despite the staff turnover, many of the bridges Gaither appears to have burned last year remain in the Chargers organization. Can Gaither possibly repair that damage?

Telesco and the coaching staff will first decide whether Gaither gets the chance to try.

"I want to talk to him," Telesco said. "I can’t make any decisions based on what people have told me. It’s a new regime. I’ve got to get to know everybody. I’ll take opinions from everybody. In the end, it’s our decisions. Will he be back for training camp? I don’t know. I’ve barely talked to him. We have a lot of work to do."

Gaither signed a four-year contract last year that has, so far, pocketed him $9 million.

He played only four games in 2012, missing the preseason and nearly all of training camp with a back injury. Gaither, at times defensive and guarded, insisted his intent was to be with his teammates on the field. He eventually returned in Week 4 but suffered a groin strain the next week, going on to aggravate it multiple times before being placed on injured reserve.

A team release termed the recovery as "painstakingly slow."

Multiple sources across different levels of the Chargers, including the locker room, questioned his toughness and commitment level to the team. About the time he was placed on IR, Gaither was told not to return to the building.

Many teammates hadn't seen him for weeks when he appeared at Chargers Park on Dec. 31, the day after the season ended.

"I wasn’t here for any of that, so I’ve got to see for myself," Telesco said of Gaither's situation. "I have to see."

If on the Chargers' Week 1 roster, Gaither would make $4.5 million in base salary and cost $6.5 million against the cap. If released, he wouldn't earn the base salary while still costing $6 million against the cap. The figure is the prorated portion of his $8 million signing bonus.

A text and voice message to his agent Thursday were not returned.

Asked Thursday about Gaither, coach Mike McCoy responded broadly about his approach with all players, saying "everybody is going to start with a clean slate," and he will do his homework to learn about his players from there.

Part of that process involves speaking with some of the locker room's respected leaders.

"That's going to help," McCoy said. "Those guys have all been here. They've been through the last act. Some have been here longer than others. We're really just looking at it like, 'Hey, gather as much information as we can to help us make the best decisions moving forward.'"